Jorge: The Next Bernie

Word is that the Junkees are looking to trade Jorge Posada. The guy's 34, his numbers have been on the decline (OPS from '03-05: .923, .881, .782), and the Yanks would love to get Bengie Molina in there (especially with Despiser's theory that George loves guys who beat up on the Junkees, as Molina did in the ALDS). But unless the Dodgers bring back Kevin Malone as GM, the Yanks are stuck with Jorgie. Who in their right mind would take a 34 year old catcher with a n$8 million salary? Come on.

Posada has a clause in his contract that if he catches a certain number of games in '06, a $12 million option for '07 automatically kicks in. So unless Posada goes on the DL or something, the Junkees are stuck.

So it'll be really interesting to see what the Yanks do next year. If they're gonna turn Posada into a C/DH, they'll need a better backup. Flaherty is just like Charlie O'Brien; he's got the hockey mask, and he's about as good a hitter as Wayne Gretzky. Flaherty is good for the Big Unit, but that's about it.

I would love to see Posada play some first base. It was funny seeing Piazza out there, but that's the Mets. To see Posada, now that would be comical. Then again, he might be better than Giambi.

And the most interesting thing of all will be how Georgie handles all this. Bernie was a classy guy, and really handled his decline pretty well. But Posada is a hothead. Remember when he spat on the ump? Or the fight with Amezaga of the Angels? And his fight with Tino (see Olney's book)? Posada will not be happy with his situation next year. Should make for some interesting headlines.

-- BTW Despiser, my pick for backup 1B is not Olerud; it's Yankee-killer Eduardo Perez. Too bad he wouldn't be able to face the Unit then.